ENGINEERINGNET.EU – For the first time a floating, self-erecting substation was used in an offshore wind project.
The farm - Global Tech I – is currently being built by a consortium of Alstom Grid and Keppel Verolme in the North Sea.
The substation links the wind generating turbines to the grid connection point. During installation, the self-erecting platform uses a 'suction can method' to set the foundations to the sea bed.
It is also completely self-contained to protect the electrical equipment against the harsh offshore conditions. And it can be completely removed after its lifetime-cycle.
The novel platform design is paving the way for a new use of existing technologies, already common in the Oil & Gas business, state both companies. It is based on the Mobile Offshore Application Barge (MOAB), developed by Overdick.
“This platform concept is certainly an interesting alternative to traditional topside-jacket-installations and could become one of the standard engineering solutions in the offshore wind business”, claims Florian Zschoge, Alstom Grid’s Project Leader.
